March Visit from Grandma and Grandpa

Blowing Rock is a sweet town that our family loves, so we thought it was about time to introduce it to Grandma and Grandpa. The pics are out of order, but we'll go with it.
Kilwin's in Blowing rock. The smell of this ice cream and candy shop wafts through the town, and you can't help but be drawn in for a bite! It's pretty yummy ice cream too. Free fudge samples rock.
Sweet Macy loves this version of vanilla with fruit. Not sherbet. I happened to like it too.
Sugar Shea.
Sweet Kinlers.
It's pretty fun to watch those workers making all kinds of delightful treats.
The park in Blowing Rock. Mom and dad hadn't been there yet, and it has quickly become a favorite spot for our family to spend the day.
Dax didn't really feel comfortable on grandpa's shoulders. Ya think? I'm pretty sure he left marks...
The girls wearing their "Little House" dresses that grandma made for them. We are Little House on the Prairie fans.
Never knew a kid his age could love a book so much. Now he has two "Llama Llama" books, and without fail, every time you ask to read to him, will pick out one of those two books. I have to admit, I have "Red Pajama" memorized.
Here is the crew at our park in Blowing Rock. It truly was "our park" on this day! There were hardly any people there all day. It was a beautiful day for a picnic, playing catch, a few volleyball instructions, Lucky's first swing ride (he was hilarious and several park patrons asked for a snapshot), and lots of smiles. It wasn't until the end of the day as we walked past the park sign that we read, "Absolutely NO PETS ALLOWED". Oops.
Thanks for entering our world, grandma and grandpa, and for making your trips to NC a regular part of your lives! We love you!

Photo Shoot

A little photo shop does a lot of good! Look at my handsome young man...
Sweet Boo!
Camo Kya in typical "fun" gear. She asked to wear the leggings. Of course. She is so colorful on the inside too!
The sparkly girl. Always a smile on her face.
Mrs. Photogenic. It's hard to get a bad picture of Shea. She's also the little photographer. She was competing with me to arrange my subjects creatively.
Sweet baby Dax! Today I asked him, "What's your name?" Very curious to know what he thinks. His answer: "BUBBA!"
Those silly Gebhards kids.
These two have become pals recently. They get along great, and Kinley is included in the boys club which meets under our house (a pretty cool "hideout") for after school play with neighborhood boys.
Almond eyes. Runs in the family.
It's been far too long since I've posted pictures or any Gebhards' happenings...so here's a few pics. The kids brought home school pics that I could purchase today (love those new techniques!) and all of them wanted to buy theirs...so I promised that I would take some of our own with a REAL background (not the old school waterfall with two live ferns perched beside them) and that I would copy them whatever size they wanted to share with friends. So we got them all cutesied up and went to our photo shoot destination which happens to be our own backyard. Amazingly beautiful! We had lots of fun as you can see. There was such sweetness between them! I love it!

Yesterday I was struck by something I'm sure I have read many times in my "Proverb of the day" ventures. If you're keen on the Proverbs, you might be a little surprised since you may realize that Proverbs 5 is largely devoted to avoiding the pitfalls of the adulteress. The phrase that really caught my attention is in fact a description of the adulteress. But, a description which I think we can all relate to on some level. Here it is.

"She does not ponder the path of life." (v.6)

I highlighted and emboldened the word ponder. I don't think we take much time to ponder anything. Life is too busy. We have lots of things to do. And we have everything we need (or so we think). So this morning I spent an hour pondering with the Psalmist and I have been greatly blessed.
Just to note, the "end" of the one who gives in to the adulteress (and no doubt the end to the adulteress herself) is this:

"And you groan at your final end, when your flesh and your body are consumed; and you say, 'How I have hated instruction! And my heart spurned reproof!'"

I don't want to wait until my "final end" to ponder life. We MUST resolve daily to meditate and ponder on truth, or our bodies will be consumed, and we will be left without hope, wanting nothing more than to go back and settle our matters with God.